Sefora Masia, WOCAN coordinator attended the World Food Day jointly organized by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the FAO in Gauteng Province in South Africa on Oct 10, 2012.
The theme was on Agricultural Cooperatives as a key to feeding the world, also following on the decision of the UN General Assembly to designate 2012 ‘International Year of Cooperatives.’ This theme was chosen to highlight the role of cooperatives in improving food security and contributing to the eradication of hunger. Cooperatives are seen as very important because they promote organizational networks particularly in rural areas, while providing women farmers with opportunities to improve their incomes and obtain economic independence, as well as contributing to food security.
The Minister of Agriculture , Forestry and Fisheries of South Africa, Tina Joemat-Petterson, stated in her speech that World Food Day should inform communities of the ways to mitigate the impact of the rise in food prices through the establishment of food gardens.
In her speech, the Premier of Gauteng Province where the event was held, talked about the importance of empowering women, in order to empower the nation. She went on to say that the empowerment of women and gender equality were very important for achieving food security.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development announced that it has set a target of establishing 15,000 smallholder producers, with a particular focus on women, and formation of Cooperatives for women to provide supporting networks to enable women to overcome cultural barriers in participating in economic activities.
Speakers mentioned the importance of achieving food security through government partnering with agri-industry, agro-processing and retail sectors, research based institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society. WOCAN Coordinator was able to meet and interact briefly with a few officials where she mentioned WOCAN services.